Strana 11
HISTORY
Squadron (PS), under the command of Capt.
James C. Selman, was assigned the task of de-
fending Darwin. The ground personnel and tech-
nical equipment were transported by land from
Melbourne, while 25 pilots began the 2,000-mile
journey in their aircraft over unfamiliar terrain,
departing in succession on March 8.
Severe storms and technical issues delayed
their arrival, and it took two weeks for the first
pilots to reach their destination. However, Dar-
win Base was too heavily damaged to be a via-
ble operational hub, so the Americans relocated
to the more southerly Batchelor Field. By the
end of the month, 21 of the original 25 aircraft
and their pilots had successfully completed the
journey and assembled at the new airfield.
At this time, the 9th PS was reinforced
with experienced pilots who had already
seen combat against the Japanese. Lt. Jo-
seph J. Kruzel had three confirmed victo-
ries, Lt. Ben S. Irvin had shot down a bomber
and a Zero, and Lt. Andrew J. Reynolds had
three Zero kills and a shared victory over
a twin-engine aircraft, which he identified as a
"Me 110."
The First Air Battles
The 7th Pursuit Squadron achieved its
first aerial victory on March 22, 1942. A Ja-
panese formation from the 3rd Kōkūtai con-
sisted of a C5M Babs reconnaissance air-
craft, escorted by three A6M2 Zero Type21s.
After completing its mission, the reconnai-
ssance aircraft separated from its escort,
a fatal mistake. The Americans, flying at 20,000
feet, spotted the lone aircraft 1,000 feet below
and gave it no chance.
The attack was carried out by 2nd Lt. Clyde
L. Harvey, Jr. and 1st Lt. Stephen Poleschuk.
Under their combined fire, the C5M Babs
crashed southwest of Bathurst Island, killing
both crew members, PO1c Shigiki Mori and
PO1c Shinobu Nagasawa. This victory, credited
to Poleschuk, marked the first confirmed aeri-
al kill for the 9th Pursuit Squadron.
The 9th Pursuit Squadron achieved its first
victory against enemy bombers on March 28,
1942, during a raid by seven G4M Betty bom-
bers from the Takao Kōkūtai. The bomber for-
mation flew without escort and successfully
hit the runway at Darwin Airfield from an al-
titude of 18,000 feet, damaging one aircraft.
The Japanese crews claimed to have shot down
three P-40s, but in reality, none were lost.
However, one Japanese bomber, commanded
by Ensign Taketoshi Asahiro, was shot down,
and the entire crew perished.
On the American side, 2nd Lt. Clyde L. Har-
vey, Jr., 1st Lt. William D. Sells, and 1st Lt. Ro-
bert Harry Vaught each scored confirmed kills,
while 1st Lt. Stephen Poleschuk was credited
with a probable victory.
In the next raid, which took place on March
30, the Japanese launched their attack with
fighter escort. This time, seven G4M Betty
bombers from the Takao Kōkūtai were accom-
panied by twelve Zeros from the 3rd Kōkūtai.
The bombing raid caused minimal damage
in Darwin, but the fighter escorts effectively
protected the bombers. The Japanese pilots
claimed to have shot down six P-40s and pro-
bably destroyed two more, but in reality, only
two P-40s were damaged. Lt. McComsey was
forced to bail out of a third aircraft.
April Air Raids
During the April 2, 1942, raid on Darwin, the
9th Pursuit Squadron (PS) pilots were unable
to inflict any damage on the attackers. Ho-
wever, two days later, the situation changed.
On April 4, six G4M Betty bombers from the
Takao Kōkūtai, escorted by six Zeros from the
3rd Kōkūtai, launched an air raid targeting
both the RAAF base and the civilian airfield.
At the time, two separate American forma-
tions were airborne, each consisting of seven
P-40 Warhawks. However, only one of the
groups managed to engage the Japanese for-
ces.
During the April 4 raid, one G4M Betty bom-
ber was shot down by anti-aircraft defenses,
while two others fell victim to American figh-
ters—resulting in the loss of all crew members.
The remaining bombers managed to return to
base, though all sustained various degrees of
damage. The airmen of the 9th Pursuit Squad-
ron reported a total of eight kills. The confir-
med victories were as follows: 2nd Lt. Grover
A6M2 Zero Type 21, Lt. Zenjirō Miyano, 3. Kōkūtai, Poeleti airfield, Timor, March 1942
This aircraft, manufactured by Mitsubishi, was photographed in April 1942 in Rabaul with partially repainted mar-
kings that originally belonged to Lieutenant Miyano. The bands and stripes may have been in dark blue or black
color. Zenjirō Miyano served from 1939 with the 12th Kōkūtai in China and was appointed as a Buntaichō with the
3rd Kōkūtai in October 1941. He participated in the campaigns in the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies. During
a raid on Broome, Australia, on March 3, 1942, Miyano attacked a Dutch civil DC-3. The pilot was Capt. Ivan Smir
-
noff, a World War I Russian fighter ace, despite one engine on fire, he managed to make an emergency landing,
but the Zero pilots killed four passengers on the ground. In April 1942 Miyano was transferred to the 6th Kōkūtai,
which was to be based at Midway. Part of his unit was on the way to Midway aboard the carrier Jun´yō, which
participated in the attack against Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians. Miyano also participated in the raid. His unit was
based at Rabaul from August 1942 and was redesignated Kōkūtai 204 in November. From March 1943 Miyano took
position of Hikōtaichō. He was a combat tactics innovator and was the first to introduce the finger-four formation
in Japanese naval aviation. Miyano achieved a total of 16 victories and was killed on June 16, 1943, over Guadalca
-
nal during escort of dive bombers.
P-40E-1, 41-25164, Capt. Ben S. Irvin, 9th FS, 49th FG, Darwin, Australia, 1942
INFO Eduard
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March 2025